On What Grounds
Author: Cleo Coyle
Year: 2003
ISBN: 9780425192139
Abstract: "With a sprawling rent-free apartment directly above The Village Blend, her cat Java by her side, and plenty of coffeehouse redecorating ideas, Clare is thrilled to return to work. Until she discovers the assistant manager unconscious in the back of the store, coffee grounds strewn everywhere. Police arrive on the scene to investigate. But when they find no sign of forced entry or foul play, they deem it an accident. Case closed. But Clare is not convinced. And after the police leave, there are few things she just can't get out of her mind ... Why was the trash bin in the wrong place? If this wasn't an accident, is Clare in danger? And ... are all detectives this handsome?"--Cover page 4.
Chosen by: Rebecca
11/21/2025
Breaking Through
Author: Katalin Karikó
Year: 2023
ISBN: 9780593443163
Abstract: "A story of perseverance and the power of convictions from the groundbreaking immigrant scientist whose decades-long research led to the COVID-19 vaccines. Katalin Karikó had an unlikely journey. The daughter of a butcher in postwar communist Hungary, Karikó grew up in a one-room home that lacked running water, and her family grew their own vegetables. She saw the wonders of nature all around her and was determined to become a scientist. That determination eventually brought her to the United States, where she arrived as a postdoctoral fellow in 1985 with $1,200 sewn into her toddler's teddy bear and a dream to remake medicine. Karikó worked in obscurity, battled cockroaches in a windowless lab, and faced outright derision and even deportation threats from her bosses and colleagues. She balked as prestigious research institutions increasingly conflated science and money. Despite setbacks, she never wavered in her belief that an ephemeral and underappreciated molecule called messenger RNA could change the world. Karikó believed that someday mRNA would transform ordinary cells into tiny factories capable of producing their own medicines on demand. She sacrificed nearly everything for this dream, but the obstacles she faced only motivated her, and eventually she succeeded. Karikó's three-decades-long investigation into mRNA would lead to a staggering achievement: vaccines that protected millions of people from the most dire consequences of COVID-19. These vaccines are just the beginning of mRNA's potential. Today, the medical community eagerly awaits more mRNA vaccines-for the flu, HIV, and other emerging infectious diseases. Breaking Through isn't just the story of an extraordinary woman-it's an indictment of closed-minded thinking and a testament to one woman's commitment to laboring intensely in obscurity-knowing she might never be recognized in a culture that is more driven by prestige, power, and privilege-because she believed her work would save lives"-- Provided by publisher.
Chosen by: Amanda
11/21/2025
A Kiss of Shadows
Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
Year: 2002
ISBN: 9780345423405
Abstract: Meredith, a runaway Elven princess posing as a human private detective with a specialty in supernatural crime, is confronted by a dangerous new adversary, Doyle, the chief bodyguard and assassin of Meredith's aunt, the Queen of Air and Darkness.
Dungeons and Drama
Author: Kristy Boyce
Year: 2024
ISBN: 9780593647011
Abstract: "Musical lover Riley has big aspirations to become a director on Broadway...but when Riley takes her mom's car without permission, she's grounded and stuck with the worst punishment: spending her after-school hours working at her dad's game shop. Riley can't waste her time working...so she convinces Nathan--a nerdy teen employee--to cover her shifts and, in exchange, she'll flirt with him to make his gamer-girl crush jealous...Soon, Riley starts to think that flirting with Nathan doesn't require as much acting as she would've thought"-- Provided by publisher.
Chosen by: Keelin
11/21/2025
Temple Alley Summer
Author: Sachiko Kashiwaba ; illustrations by Miho Satake ; translated from the Japanese by Avery Fischer Udagawa
Year: 2021
ISBN: 9781632063038
Abstract: "One rainy night, Kazu sees a strange figure in a white kimono sneak out of his house--was he dreaming? Did he see a ghost? The next day at school, the very same person is sitting in his class--and all his friends are convinced that the ghost-girl Akari has been their friend for years. If that isn't weird enough, Kazu learns that his house is in the exact location of an ancient temple called Kimyō, which, legend has it, could bring the dead back to life! Kazu sets out to discover what happened to Kimyō Temple and if the rumors of its power are true. His investigation draws the unwanted attention of his neighbor Ms. Minakami and his mysterious new classmate Akari, who is definitely not what she seems. Now, Kazu and Akari must join forces to find and protect the source of the temple's power, before it's too late"--Provided by publisher.
Chosen by: Andi
11/21/2025
Free
Author: Lea Ypi
Year: 2022
ISBN: 9780393867732
Abstract: "A reflection on "freedom" in a dramatic, beautifully written memoir of the end of Communism in the Balkans. Lea Ypi grew up in the last Stalinist country in Europe: Albania, a place of queuing and scarcity, of political executions and secret police. While family members disappeared to what she was told were "universities" from which few "graduated", she swore loyalty to the Party. In her eyes, people were equal, neighbors helped each other, and children were expected to build a better world. Then the statues of Stalin and Hoxha were toppled. Almost overnight, people could vote and worship freely and invest in hopes of striking it rich. But factories shut, jobs disappeared and thousands fled to Italy, only to be sent back. Pyramid schemes bankrupted the country, leading to violence. One generation's dreams became another's disillusionment. As her own family's secrets were revealed, Lea found herself questioning what "freedom" really means. With acute insight and wit, Lea Ypi traces the perils of ideology, and what people need to flourish"-- Provided by publisher.
Chosen by: Liz
11/21/2025
Where is My Nose
Author: Lucas Zanotto
Year: 2024
ISBN: 9780966438888
Abstract: "A dog with no nose? Oh no! The dog woke up without a nose. What surprises will he uncover as he sets out to find his missing snout? In this interactive story, young readers turn and fold pages to reveal how the journey can be just as remarkable as the destination."-- Provided by publisher.
Chosen by: Samantha
11/21/2025
Circe
Author: Madeline Miller
Year: 2018
ISBN: 9780316556347
Abstract: In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child -- not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power -- the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves. Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus. But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.
Chosen by: Sandy
11/21/2025